In the March 1, 2010 Christian Science Monitor article, “Vancouver Olympics: Embarrassed Russia looks to 2014 Sochi Olympics,” Fred Weir writes about allegations about corruption, poor planning, environmental violations and government suppressing Olympic snafus.
According for former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov,
Sochi is the warmest place in Russia, with no infrastructure, no experience in winter sports – it doesn’t even have a hockey team – and many other problems.
With a budget of $17 billion and over 200 buildings and infrastructure Russia needs to build, the scramble has begun for construction contracts. Additionally, the road linking the mountain top sports venue with the seaside Olympic center will be the world’s most expensive at $130 million per kilometer, 50 times higher than the average cost of a kilometer of highway in the United States.
